Renovator builds a peaceful retirement

Five years ago, retiree Chen E’xiang rented a house in Hanzishan village, a 90-minute drive from Wuhan, the capital Hubei province. He has lived in the village ever since.

Chen, now 64, paid just 30,000 yuan ($4,400) to lease the 300-square-meter house for 10 years. Having retired from the Wuhan Iron and Steel Co, he and four friends jointly rebuilt the house and converted the premises into a retirement resort.

When the renovation was complete, Chen sublet 100 square meters of the house to tourists and short-term visitors. The rest of the property is his domain.

Every day, Chen wakes at 6 am and sleeps at 9 pm. In the morning, he feeds his chickens, ducks and goats, cleans the cottage and weeds his vegetable plot before going back to the house to read books and newspapers.

“My friends bring me all the newspapers and magazines when they come to visit,” he said.

Before Chen retired, he had a medical scan which revealed a chest condition. He declined to specify the nature of the illness, but the diagnosis was the turning point that prompted him to leave the city and “seek a place with clean air”.

“Here I can live on my own. Everything I eat is green and fresh,” he said. “I cook local chickens and fish. I grow my own vegetables. I get firewood from the nearby mountain. I also pick chestnuts. There are lots of them.”